Oh dang.
I was just trying to sell my oldest daughter on a trip to historick Enland in a couple of years. We have a bet on, so one of us will be on the hook for a serious vacation.
Roman Britain! Viking Jorvik! Warwick Castle and its trebouchet! Devon!
I’ve been to Warwick Castle. Fantastic place. Make sure you take enough time to visit the gardens. When I stopped at York, we had time for only one site visit. We chose the cathedral. Glad we did, but it would have been nice to see Jorvik as well.
If military-type museums are to your taste, I recommend RAF Duxford South of Cambridge. The market square in Cambridge is worthy of a visit, in it’s own right. The Naval museums in Portsmouth are a must, if you have time to see HMS Victory. Then there is Dover Castle......Chatham historic shipyards...
Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace.....I won’t even mention a certain big city.
Of course, I was over there for 1.5 years in 1991 - 1992, working on a DOD contract, so I had much more time than you likely will.
It’s hard to believe one could make a bad choice of sights, looks like jimtorr has a bunch of great suggestions from firsthand experience.
I’d spend a day at the Tate Gallery, and visit the British Museum, also hit a couple of ancestral towns just to see what they’ve been up to since we left. ;^)
I’d probably want to see Hadrian’s Wall, but wouldn’t mind hiking along the Wansdyke, and/or so-called Offa’s Dyke, y’know, if I had a lot of time.
http://hadrianswallcountry.co.uk/
Good friend of Henry VIII lived here, got his head chopped off, you guessed it, by Henry ViII:
http://www.newton-cross.uk/carew-caste/
Tintagel, new find:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3663986/posts
And sometimes you may just want to enjoy some shopping, let’s say you like books:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Town+in+wales+outdoor+bookstores
one more idea, Bamburgh Castle, since you’re in the north for this, you could view The Wall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6F5DN-_o3A
https://www.lightwaveuk.com/portfolio-item/bamburgh-castle/
https://www.bamburghcastle.com/history